Can you love a toxic family and still heal?

Why do you think that this is the episode that the audience should be listening to right now?

Well, this idea of patterns is so important, and I was inspired about Sankofa.

This is what kind of started my journey, this idea of looking back to move forward.

And I really have realized that when we can heal and let go of the past experiences that tend to shape us and maneuver us in directions that maybe we don't like, that we end up having the life that we believe we should have or we want to have.

And so I think that that would be appealing to most people, to really look at healing ourselves and starting with ourselves instead of looking externally to what we think may be causing it, and really doing that self-reflection to see, what part do I play, right?

Yeah.

Absolutely.

I'm curious, I'd love to dive in a little bit more about your story and how you found this work.

Mm-hmm.

But first of all, for someone who's never heard the word Sankofa before-

Mm-hmm

... can you explain what that means and what it's about?

Yeah.

It is a Ghanaian symbol actually, and it's a bird that's facing forward, but its head is turned back, and it has a egg, and it's it.

And it's the idea that it literally translates into go back and get it.

And so this idea that you have to go back and get the information and honor really the ancestors, the, the shoulders that you stand on to be where you are, even if they're imperfect shoulders.

Just this idea that many people came before you to get you to where you are, and so you go back and get it.

You get the knowledge, you get the healing, you get the love, all the things that, that you may not see because we're so focused on moving forward without honoring our past.

Yeah.

Yeah.

I love that.

That's such a-

Yeah

... beautiful image.

Now Nancy, you are a renowned speaker, author, and coach who co-founded Epoch Education in 2014, which is aimed at giving leaders in education and business accessible professional development that's focused on effective communication, equity and inclusion, and belonging.